His Substitute Bride. Elizabeth Lane

a sea of soapy water. He’d never thought of Annie that way before. But damn it, he was thinking of her that way now.

      Clara nudged him. “You left something out, Uncle Quint.”

      “I did? What?”

      “The part where Peter feels sick and looks for some parsley.”

      “Maybe you should read it to me.”

      “You read it better. But please, pay attention.”

      Quint forced his concentration back to the trials of poor Peter. He had no business thinking about Annie Gustavson naked, he chastised himself. Unlike most of the women he knew, Annie was every inch a lady. If she knew what was going through his head, she would likely slap him senseless.

      

      Annie eased back in the water, rested her heels on the end of Quint’s glorious claw-footed bathtub and closed her eyes. After the long, jarring train ride and the busy afternoon, this was pure heaven.

      A bar of soap lay on a shelf next to the tub. Its woodsy, masculine scent recalled the way Quint had smelled when he’d leaned close to her in the cab. She held it under her nose and inhaled deeply, letting the subtle fragrance penetrate her senses. Soaping her hands, she sat up and lathered her skin. An image crept into her mind—Quint, naked in this very tub, rubbing the same soap onto his body. She pictured him massaging the lather into his armpits, down his broad chest and flat belly, between his legs…

      Merciful heaven, this wouldn’t do! Her selfcontrol was slipping like a broken garter!

      The water was getting cool. With a sigh, Annie rinsed herself, pulled the rubber plug and stepped out of the tub. Quint’s honey-colored cashmere robe hung on its brass hook. He’d invited her to borrow it. Annie might have refused the invitation, but she’d left her own light flannel dressing gown in the guest bedroom she shared with Clara. It was either put on Quint’s robe or get dressed in her clothes again which, since she planned to go to bed soon, struck her as a waste of time.

      After toweling herself dry, she lifted the robe off its hook. It felt sensuous and weighty in her hands, like something between velvet and fur. Whispers of scent—Quint’s soap, Quint’s body—rose from the lush fabric as she wrapped it around her, slid her arms into the sleeves and knotted the thick sash. The softness was heaven on her bare skin. It made her want to purr like a cat.

      Clutching the oversize robe around her, she stepped into the hall. Through the open doorway of the guest bedroom, Annie could hear Quint’s offkey baritone singing his daughter to sleep. What a shame Quint didn’t have children he could claim as his own. The man would make a wonderful father—if he could ever bring himself to settle down.

      Tiptoeing into the parlor, she curled up on the settee and tucked her bare feet beneath the robe. In the fireplace pine logs popped and crackled. Annie basked in their warmth as she listened to Quint’s gruff lullaby. Hannah’s photograph, so beautiful, smiled down at her from the wall.

      Why should Quint even want to settle down? she mused. He had plenty of money and a comfortable apartment, with a servant to cook and clean. And she’d wager he had his share of women, too, including the flame-haired actress who’d stopped by their table at Delmonico’s. As for children, maybe Clara was all the child he needed. He could love and indulge her without the burden of being a father. No ties. No responsibilities. Quint was as free as a bird, and he seemed to like it that way.

      Why should she pin her hopes on such a man? It was time she opened her eyes and faced the truth. If she kept her heart set on Quint Seavers, she’d be committing herself to a life of spinsterhood.

      “There you are.” He came around the back of the settee and settled himself at the opposite end. Reflected flames danced in his warm brown eyes. “Maybe you should keep that robe. You look a lot better in it than I do. How do you like it?”

      Annie stirred self-consciously. “It’s the most decadent thing I’ve ever worn. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go put on my night clothes and return it to you.”

      “No, stay.” His hand touched her wrist, rousing a tingle of awareness. “Clara’s barely asleep. You don’t want to wake her. Besides, I’ve never been alone with a woman wearing nothing but a cashmere bathrobe. Doesn’t it make you feel wicked?”

      Annie’s cheeks flamed hot. He was playing with her, probably laughing at her discomfort.

      “Stop teasing me, Quint,” she said. “I’m not one of your conquests.”

      “Oh?” His left eyebrow quirked upward. “Then who are you, pray tell, Miss Annie Gustavson?”

      “Hannah’s sister. Clara’s aunt. And your good friend, as well, I hope.”

      He leaned closer, his eyes twinkling seductively. “You’re all those things. But that’s not what I’m asking. I want to know about the woman inside that prim and proper skin of yours. Who is she? Has she ever been in love?”

      “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

      He grinned like a naughty schoolboy and settled back into the corner of the settee. “Little Annie. I’ve known you since you were in pigtails. But right now I feel as if I hardly know you at all.”

      Annie stared down at her hands. She’d never considered herself shy. With most men, in fact, she could even be clever. But one smile from Quint Seavers was all it took to turn her into a bumbling, tonguetied schoolgirl.

      She forced herself to meet his mocking eyes. “Can’t we talk about something else?”

      “Whatever you like. You choose.”

      “All right. Let me think.”

      Quint studied her as she sat poised in silence. The collar of the cashmere robe framed her throat, lending a glow to her porcelain skin. Dampened by the steamy bath, her hair tumbled around her heartshaped face, framing her stormy eyes, her elegant cheekbones, her perfect, pillow-soft lips.

      Lord, didn’t she know how beautiful she was?

      He imagined tasting that mouth, nibbling at her lower lip, then crushing her in a long, deep kiss, his hands sliding beneath the cashmere to stroke her satiny skin, loosening the sash to…

      “Tell me about you and Josiah Rutledge.”

      Her words crashed Quint back to earth. His brief fantasy had been delicious. But this was Annie. She was family, and there was a child asleep in the next room. It was time he yanked his thoughts back above his beltline.

      Pulling himself together, Quint rose to lay another log on the fire. “Would you like some wine?”

      She shook her head. “No, really, I—”

      “This isn’t Dutchman’s Creek, Annie. You’re in San Francisco now. Live a little.” He took a crystal decanter of merlot from the sideboard and filled two goblets half-full.

      “Are you trying to corrupt me, Mr. Seavers?” Her eyebrows arched as he handed her the fragile glass.

      “You look like a lady who could use a little corrupting.”

      She took a tentative sip. “My poor mother would faint if she could see me now. Drinking wine in a man’s bachelor flat, wearing nothing but a sinfully expensive bathrobe…” Her eyes flashed at him over the ridge of the wineglass. “So sit down and tell me about your quarrel with Mr. Rutledge. After I’ve heard you out, we can decide whether Clara and I should stay out the week or go home early.”

      Quint settled back onto the sofa, wondering how much he should tell her. He didn’t want to frighten Annie, or cause her to end the trip too soon. But how could he lie to those clear, intelligent eyes?

      He started with the broader issues—the corruption in the city government, the rampant graft and bribery, and the dangerous state of the city’s water system. “The mayor and the board may be a bunch of crooks, but our fire department’s first-rate. The chief, Dennis Sullivan, has been